The mezcal makers of the Mexican state of Oaxaca plan to be front and center on a marketing push to sell the distilled spirit to drinkers in Los Angeles and the world.
The campaign kicked off at a recent event sponsored by Promexico, the Mexican government's agency for the promotion of trade and investment. The December 9 gathering at the Suede Bar in the renowned Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles served as an introduction for a number of mezcal brands, including Agave de Cortes, Casa Xipe, Memorable, Reserva Santaella, Benevá, Mezcal Forever Oax, Nabani, Memorable, and El Huehuete, among others.
Juan Marcos Gutierrez, who serves as Mexico's consul general in Los Angeles, told the crowd that Los Angeles is a cultural center for the tens of millions of Latinos in the U.S., adding that the city would rank as the 24th-largest economy of the world if it were its own country. The Los Angeles area is also home to an estimated 150,000 who trace their roots to the Mexican state of Oaxaca — the main production center for mezcal.
Gutierrez said that making a marketing push in Los Angeles will bring benefits beyond the Latino market, however. He compared Los Angeles to a display window of the world — a place where Japanese, Koreans, Armenians and members of other ethnic groups and cultures all come together.
"They're counting on our support," Gutierrez said of the mescal makers in Oaxaca. "We know that they are on their way up to positioning a product that can compete with other products of the world."
Gutierrez said that he first tried mezcal in Oaxaca, and soon began to work with distillers there on a plan to broaden the drink's appeal.
"Just because we put a bottle out doesn't mean we're in the market," Gutierrez said.
Fernando Santibañez Escobar, the founder of the Casa Xipe label of mezscal, said that he hopes to make gains in the U.S. market by starting in the Oaxacan community, and then moving on to the market of all Mexicans, then all Latinos, and, finally, the overall marketplace.
"We know that Oaxacans are consuming Oaxacan products here and we want them to do so also with mezcal, just as with cecina, tasajo, and other products," said Santibañez.
Santibañez said that gaining such market penetration will not be easy, but added that he sees a day when mezcal will be as popular as tequila is right now.
Santibañez offered the crowd a primer on the differences between mezcal and tequila. He pointed out that mezcal is a distilled liquor made from the agave plant, while tequila is a type of mezcal — and should be referred to properly as "mezcal from tequila."
Rolando Cortes of the Agave de Cortes mescal label, said that there are currently 500 or so mezcal producers in Oaxaca, but only 60 or 70 are in full operations due a lack of promotion and the lack of product for the product.
"There is a negative image that mezcal is for poor people, and that has affected us very much," Cortes said.
Cortes said that his company's plans to move upscale include a process currently underway to certify a 100% organic product.
Agave de Cortes currently produces 60,000 liters of mezcal annually, he said, with distribution mainly in Mexico City, Cancun, Acapulco, Los Cabos, Mexicali, and now in Los Angeles.
Cortes said that he hopes that the push for market mescal in the U.S. will soon bring increased demand for his label and others, giving distillers a reason to hire new workers and buy more ingredients from farmers in Oaxaca.
Mireya Olivera is editor of Impulso.
Photos by Impulso.
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